Alcohol Facts: 10 Awareness & Addiction Facts about Alcohol

Alcohol facts show us that excessive alcohol consumption is a problem in the United States and worldwide. Binge drinking accounts for many of the negative effects that result from excessive alcohol consumption. Nearly 90% of excessive alcohol consumption is carried out in the form of binge drinking.

Each year over 10,000 people die directly as a result of car crashes involving drunk drivers. When we look at what age group is affected most, alcohol facts show that excessive alcohol consumption is the number one risk factor for illness and premature death in people aged 15 to 49 years old. Clearly, alcohol has severe negative consequences for our health.

Alcohol Facts: 10 Facts about Alcohol

When we look at the burden on society, the cost of excessive alcohol consumption is over $220 billion each year. Most of this cost is the result of the loss of workplace productivity, which totals over $150 billion each year. With alcohol, we’re pouring our health and our economy down the drain.

1. 1 in 10 Deaths of 20-64 Year Olds Are due to Alcohol

Alcohol facts tell us about the toll that alcohol takes on individuals and on society as a whole. The dangerous effects of alcohol result in the death of 1 in 10 Americans aged between 20 and 64 years old! Statistics featuring these so-called ‘working age’ adults prominently feature in discussions of alcohol facts. It seems this group is most likely to feel the harmful effects of alcohol. Throughout all age groups, alcohol results in over 20,000 deaths per year!

Our alcohol facts show that 88,000 people died between the years of 2006 and 2010 as a result of alcohol. The trend has not improved since then.

Our alcohol facts show that, of these deaths, 70% occur in working-age adults. Again, this group of people aged between 20 and 64 seems to be more prone to the deadly effects of alcohol.

Perhaps one of the saddest alcohol facts is that 5% of the deaths caused by alcohol occur in people who are younger than 21 years old. Clearly there is more work to be done with alcohol awareness facts to make sure our children and young people are aware of the dangers of alcohol.

2. Excessive Alcohol Consumption Costs the US $220 Billion Each Year

Alcohol facts clearly show just how deadly alcohol can be. Alcohol takes a toll on the human body, and it also takes a toll on society. Excessive alcohol consumption costs the United States over $220 billion each year!

In case that doesn’t sound like an overwhelming price to pay, when you start to look at these alcohol facts from another perspective, it shows just how costly drinking is. For every drink, it costs society $1.90 to deal with the negative effects of alcohol consumption.

When you look at how much this costs us individually, you learn we’re paying $746 per person for the damage that alcohol is doing to society! This is not the cost for each person that is affected by alcohol; this is the average cost that everyone in society must bear, and gives us one of the more surprising alcohol facts.

Drinking on the job is no joke when it comes to alcohol facts. Alcohol facts tell us about the cost excessive alcohol consumption has on society. These facts show that 72% of the cost of excessive alcohol is due to the negative impact on workplace productivity. With a yearly cost to society of over $220 billion, that means we are losing over $154 billion a year of productivity due to the negative effects of alcohol.

The healthcare costs of excessive alcohol consumption total $24 billion, or 11% of the cost that excessive alcohol consumption puts on society. It seems that the burden alcohol places on society has more to due with economic output than treating the deadly effects that alcohol has on people.

However, expenses related to law enforcement and motor vehicle crashes combine to equal 15% of the cost that excessive alcohol has on society. The cost for criminal justice expenses and car crashes together equals over $30 billion per year! These alcohol facts show that society pays a heavy direct price for the deadly effects that alcohol has.

4. Binge Drinking Is Most Common in Households with Incomes over $75,000

Alcohol facts can be surprising. We might think that the negative effects of alcohol and alcohol abuse occur mostly in poor communities. However, the truth is that binge drinking is most common among white males, aged 18 to 34 years old, and with a household income over $75,000 per year.

When surveys are undertaken to reveal alcohol awareness facts, binge drinking is reported by 18% of adults in the United States. This is a troubling fact as this type of alcohol abuse sets a bad example. While we might think that it’s mainly college students, the Centers for Disease Control, or CDC, reports that 70% of binge drinking actually occurs in adults over the age of 26 years.

When it comes to alcohol facts about men and women, men are twice as likely as women to be binge drinkers. More than half of the alcohol in the United States is consumed through binge drinking. It would seem that men are consuming a lot of alcohol in the form of binge drinking.

Binge drinking can have deadly effects. Binge drinkers are 14 times more likely to drive while drunk compared to non-binge drinkers.

5. More than 38 Million Adults Binge Drink

It’s clear that binge drinking plays a big part in the impact that excessive alcohol has on people and society. More than 38 million adults in the United States report binge drinking – that’s 1 in 6 adults!

These shocking alcohol facts show how widespread the problem really is. On average, binge drinkers consume 8 drinks per binge, and binge drink on about 4 separate occasions a month. Perhaps the most surprising of the alcohol facts regarding binge drinking is that most people who binge are not usually alcohol dependent. There is no direct link between alcohol addiction and binge drinking.

When it comes to binge drinking, the amount of alcohol that is considered excessive varies for men and women. The official definition of excessive drinking is 15 drinks or more per week for a man, and 8 drinks or more per week for a woman. We know from our alcohol facts that a binge is 8 drinks or more, so it’s clear to see why 90% of excessive alcohol consumption is done through binge drinking.

6. 10,322 Deaths Occurred in 2012 due to Drunk Driving

When it comes to the effects of excessive alcohol consumption on society, one of the most troublesome alcohol facts is the number of fatalities that result from drunk driving. In 2012, the most recent year where alcohol awareness statistics are available for motor vehicle accidents, 31% of the deaths in car crashes were a result of drunk driving.

The total number of people killed by drunk driving was 10,322 people! This clearly shows that excessive alcohol has an impact on our society which stretches far beyond the people who consume excessive amounts of alcohol. With nearly 25% of people aged 18 years or older reporting binge drinking in the past month, excessive alcohol consumption is a widespread problem.

Nearly 90% of adults drink alcohol at some point in their lifetime. However, the 25% of people who report binge drinking in the last month are 14 times more likely to drive while drunk.

7. 3.3 Million People Die as a Result of Alcohol Each Year Worldwide

When we start looking at alcohol facts on a global scale, the negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption are astounding. Worldwide, the most recent statistics show that 3.3 million people die each year as a result of excessive alcohol consumption! This accounts for nearly 8% of the deaths in men worldwide and nearly 4% of the deaths in women.

When it comes to the toll that alcohol takes on the human body, alcohol facts show that alcohol misuse is the fifth leading risk factor for premature death and disability. Looking closer at these alcohol facts, we find that alcohol misuse is the number one risk factor for premature death for people between the ages of 18 and 49 years old.

Clearly, excessive alcohol use is a problem on a global scale. When it comes to the total amount of disease and injury caused by alcohol worldwide, the figure is an astounding 5.1%. That is equivalent to 1 out of every 20 cases of disease or injury worldwide resulting from excessive alcohol consumption.

8. Worldwide Alcohol Consumption Is 1.5 Gallons per Person!

Looking more closely at global alcohol facts, according to the World Health Organization or WHO, the most recent figures show that, worldwide, people consume enough alcohol to equal over 1.5 gallons per person aged 15 years or older.

This may not sound like a lot, but it’s the equivalent of everyone 15 years and older drinking a teaspoon of pure alcohol each day! Nearly 25% of alcohol production is unrecorded and unregulated. With this homemade alcohol comprising such a large portion, some people might actually be drinking a teaspoon of pure alcohol each day!

9. More Than 200 Diseases and Injuries Result from Excessive Alcohol

Looking at the alcohol facts about disease and injury caused by excessive alcohol is a sobering experience. More than 200 different diseases and types of injury are caused by excessive alcohol consumption.

The types of diseases that result from excessive alcohol consumption include alcohol addiction, liver cirrhosis and cancer, as well as numerous injuries. More recently, alcohol facts have been established that show a link between excessive alcohol and infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDs.

These alcohol facts paint a troubling picture for healthcare workers worldwide. Different regional, national and global policies are being put into effect to deal with the issue of excessive alcohol consumption. Groups like Alcoholics Anonymousexist to provide help to people who consumes excessive amounts of alcohol.

Some governments are also imposing stricter limits on the amount of blood alcohol concentration people can have in their blood and still be classed as not under the influence. In other words, governments are lowering the limit for what is considered “legally” drunk.

10. 23 Million People in the European Union Are Addicted to Alcohol

Each year, nearly 4 million people in the United States receive treatment for drug or alcohol abuse. Alcohol facts show us that the large majority of these people are receiving treatment for alcohol addiction: 2.5 million people!

Alcohol addiction is also a large-scale problem worldwide. In the European Union, more than 23 million people are addicted to alcohol. This high rate of alcohol dependence clearly has a negative impact on European society. Alcohol contributes to 1 in 10 cases of illness and premature death in the European Union.

There are a lot of alcohol facts relating to lists of the countries with the highest rates of alcohol consumption. Most of these countries are in Europe. France, Germany, and Portugal typically appear in the top 10 lists of countries with high rates of alcohol consumption.